http://ramboslocker.blip.tv/file/3213648/It was like a scene out of a Hollywood film, only this was not make believe. Canoe paddlers have a whale of a story, after an unexpected encounter with a 30-foot humpback whale. It happened Thursday night several miles off Kailua Beach as the group headed back to shore in their one-man canoes.
It was the talk at Kailua Beach Friday.
"It's out of nowhere, out of nowhere this whale appears and boom," said veteran paddler Wally Hamasaki.
A surreal and stunning encounter with mother nature.
"Then I see him yelling whoah he got hit by one whale and i'm thinking one whale!"
He is Keola Lindsey who was riding a wave when the whale surfaced.
"I was going fast already and it was right there it was no more than a couple feet away."
"There was no time to say wow that's a whale it was just impact," said Lindsey.
Wendall Balai was several feet away.
"He must have hit the whale with his nose and then the whale flicked him with the tail," said Balai.
"Exactly like one rag doll no control I mean he just went launched like superman flying skimming over the water like the flying fish," added Hamasaki.
"The main thought was where is it and try get as far away from it as i could," said Lindsey.
"The span between the tail is bigger than our canoe bigger than our canoe."
Lindsey's 20-foot canoe was destroyed. he was forced to abandon the vessel. he jumped on the back of Hamasaki's canoe who paddled them back to shore.
"Very lucky and very fortunate that I had people to help me," said Lindsey.
Once on shore, they alerted the coast guard about the abandoned canoe and that everyone was safe.
"Really lesson learned that you got to go out with partners you got to turn around you got to watch," said Hamasaki. "You can lose somebody outside there."
An estimated 10,000 Humpback Whales migrate to Hawaii each winter and many often breach or surface near ocean users. This group was lucky.
"He breached completely and blew air took air in bruddah would be launched i mean who would've been hurt," said Hamasaki.
Mother Nature made her presence felt.
"She showed what eh you know what you guys are just manini compare to what I surround you with," said Hamasaki.
"It reminded of how big the ocean is and how we're only guess out there," said Lindsey. "For my situation I consider it a miracle."
Lindsey says he won't return to the sea right away. When asked why he smiled and said, "I don't have a boat."
